TF Prime: The Platinum Age
by hailfire97
Summary: Contains spoilers to Predacons Rising! Cybertron is restored, and the War is over. But, as its inhabitants return, Cybertron faces a new threat: an old enemy from the distant past... He has awoken.
1. The Dawn

'Above all, do not lament my absence. For in my spark, I know that this is not the end, but merely a new beginning. Simply put; another transformation.'  
Optimus Prime flew down the Well of Allsparks, straight to the heart of Cybertron; straight to Primus. Once the Last Prime reached the central core chamber, he opened his chest, revealing the Matrix of Leadership. Its crystal centre glowed fiercely with the light of the AllSpark within, waiting to be reunited with its home.  
As the light began to consume him, Optimus closed his optics, and he flew into the Creator's spark, and became one with Primus.

Lights erupted out of the core, shooting out to Cybertron's surface, each burning a bright individual colour. As the lights shot out of the Well, Bumblebee, Ultra Magnus, Arcee, Bulkhead, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Smokescreen and Knock Out gazed on, until a red light darted back and forth before them for a moment, before whizzing off across the planet with the other sparks.

'By the Allspark...' Ratchet murmured, watching as the new sparks explored their restored world.  
'So, where will they go?' Smokescreen asked, facing his colleagues.  
'Primus will create protoforms,' Bumblebee answered, his optics wide with amazement, unblinking as he watched the colours streak across the horizon. 'The protoforms will fill these alcoves,' he gestured towards the little caves lining the Well. 'The sparks, having gained basic knowledge on Cybertron having explored it, as they are doing now, will fill those and become like us.' He blinked, and looked across at the others, who stared back at him, in question.  
Bumblebee rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. 'Optimus taught me it,' he explained. 'When we first got back to Cybertron.'  
Ratchet blinked, and then shook his head. 'Yes. Well, ahem, I must get back to Earth. No doubt the children and Agent Fowler will want to know of this.'  
The other robots shook themselves out of their stupor and looked at Ratchet.  
'Of course,' Ultra Magnus nodded. 'We shall prepare the space bridge for you, Doctor.'  
All of them transformed to their respective vehicle modes, except for Knock Out.  
The former Decepticon stood a while longer to watch the sparks fly around, before murmuring to himself, 'ooh, new shiny finishes!'  
He then sped in pursuit of his new allies.

He sensed it.  
In the emptiness, He felt the last one disappear.  
He laughed. A cold, echoing laugh that rang through the blackness, until it eventually faded to silence.  
He looked towards the tiny pinprick of light, the only change of scenery in His featureless surroundings, apart from His manacles that resisted His touch.  
He waited. He had waited for eons for this. He could wait a little while longer for His plans to come to fruition


	2. Current Affairs

Smokescreen typed in the coordinates into the computer, and hit the ignition button. The swirling green portal of the space bridge burst out of thin air, the unique humming sound filling the whole chamber.  
Ratchet exchanged his farewells with Team Prime.  
'Say hi to Miko for me,' Bulkhead told him.  
'And Jack,' Arcee added.  
'And Raf,' Bumblebee finished.  
Ratchet nodded. 'I shall keep in touch,' the medic informed them. 'Until the next time,' he smiled, and walked towards the portal. With a flash, he vanished.  
Smokescreen hit another button, and the bridge closed.

The Autobot walked over to the group, and crossed his arms.  
'So, what now, chief?' Wheeljack asked, looking towards Ultra Magnus.  
'An excellent question, Wheeljack,' the commander responded. He paused before continuing. 'I believe that our best use of time at this stage is to continue the reconstruction effort. Bulkhead,' he faced the large, green Wrecker. 'If you would be so kind as to resume the supervision of this task, it will be much appreciated.'  
Bulkhead nodded, and turned to leave.  
'Wait an astrosecond.'  
Arcee looked towards each of them. 'Who will lead us, now that Optimus is...' Her voice wavered, and she fell silent.  
Bumblebee placed his hand on the blue robot's shoulder, and Arcee smiled up at him in thanks.  
'Maybe we should think about the High Council,' Smokescreen suggested. 'Having spent a while with Alpha Trion, I know that he was a great teacher, and a great leader.' The blue-and-yellow 'Bot looked at his peers in question.  
'But I thought the big 'A' had kicked the bucket in the War, so who else would be in the Council?' Knock Out responded.  
'That will have to be decided, once more of Cybertron's citizens have returned,' Magnus finalized.  
The group nodded, and began leaving the room.

'We must, once again, divide our resources to improve efficiency when patrolling for rogue Decepticons,' Ultra Magnus informed Team Prime as they walked along the corridor leading to the roof of the Iacon Archives; their current base of operations. 'However, as Smokescreen and I discovered on our last patrol, we may need greater numbers in these groups.'  
The door opened, and the group walked out onto the rooftop terrace.  
'Also, patrolling on wheels is proving more challenging than with wings,' the commander continued, 'and with the Warship now out of commission, we must find other means to-'  
'Perhaps I may be of assistance.'  
It was Megatron.

The group stiffened, as though a cold breeze had blown through: Wheeljack closed his fists, and went into a slight crouch; Arcee made an involuntary movement, as though she were about to draw her weapons.  
'How might that be, Megatron?' Magnus asked, his voice terse.  
'As you have no doubt noticed,' the Decepticon leader began, 'air superiority had always been the Decepticons' greatest asset against you and your fellow Autobots: I offer my services to aid you in this task.'  
'And let me guess, you want something in return,' Bulkhead said gruffly.  
Megatron turned away from the Autobots, and closed his optics.  
'I understand now, and all too well, the atrocities that befell our world, and other worlds on my hands.' He faced the group. 'Having been subject to Unicron's wrath taught me truly the meaning of suffering. I am deeply sorry, from the depth of my spark, for all that has affected you, and all others who suffered because of me.'  
Arcee's eyes softened and she relaxed her arms, although Wheeljack kept his fists clenched, but seemed to lose his tension.  
'All that I wish in return is to be rid of my title as a Decepticon, and to have these,' he gestured towards the corroded pieces of armour from Unicron's transformation of him, 'removed. I do not want to be associated with the Chaos Bringer, now, or ever again.' His voice had lost all traces of its former menace: it was gentle, and filled with remorse. 'I understand if you arrest me and hold me accountable for the countless war crimes I have committed; but I wish for you to know that my only desire now is to rebuild, and protect Cybertron.'

The rooftop was silent. Megatron stood before the Autobots, awaiting their judgement.  
Each of them looked at the former warlord, calculating and reading him, save Knock Out, who looked shell shocked at his former master's words.  
Bumblebee stepped forward and faced Megatron.  
'You crushed my voicebox,' Bumblebee spoke quietly but firmly, staring into Megatron's optics unblinkingly. 'You tried to take Optimus from us. You tried to conquer and enslave Earth, many times. You nearly killed Raf. You killed our home.'  
Megatron looked away from the scout, now warrior's optics ashamedly.  
Bumblebee raised him arm, and extended it towards his old enemy. 'But a wise robot once said, 'Every sentient being deserves an opportunity for redemption.''  
Megatron looked back at Bumblebee and smiled at him, shaking his hand.  
'Thank you, Bumblebee.'  
One by one, each of the group shook hands with Megatron, even Wheeljack. Admittedly, the white Wrecker did hesitate slightly before reaching out, but put his grudge to the side.  
Knock Out smirked as he shook hands with his former commander.  
'I must say, Megatron,' the red robot said in his oily voice, 'this does tickle me slightly: a few solar cycles ago, I was not deemed fit to even address you without 'Lord' preceding your name.'  
Megatron smiled as well. 'Indeed, Knock Out. It is incredible how much change can occur in such a short time.'

Ultra Magnus addressed the new group of allies.  
'As we were discussing, the most notable of fugitives at this time would be Shockwave, and Starscream.'  
'If I may, Ultra Magnus,' Megatron injected, 'Shockwave has never been one for an open battle, and since facing the resurrected Predacons under Unicron's command, he has all but certainly gone into hiding to recuperate.'  
'Ok, but where do we find the mad scientist?' Arcee asked.  
Megatron chuckled at the nickname. 'He is probably residing in one of his numerous laboratories scattered across Cybertron: I have a complete database of them available on Darkmount, if you recall.' He nodded towards Bumblebee and the others that first encountered Unicron at the former Decepticon complex.  
'But, surely acting only if something was 'completely logical',' Smokescreen commented, 'wouldn't he think of that?'  
'An excellent point, one that we must take into consideration,' Ultra Magnus agreed.  
'Going onto my former second-in-command, though,' Megatron continued, 'Starscream's cowardly demeanour makes him a very unpredictable quarry: tracking him will be extremely difficult. We can only begin to ponder: where could he be now?'


	3. Fight and Flight

'Stop! I command you!' Starscream shouted as the three Predacons exacted their revenge on their former superior officer.  
'Interesting, isn't it, 'Commander'?' Predaking snarled as he flung him across Darkmount's throne room, while Darksteel and Skylynx laughed. 'How humiliating it is to be struck, and ordered around like a 'mindless beast'. That is how you would put it, wouldn't you?'  
The Decepticon Air Commander scrambled to his feet and tried running away, until Skylynx intercepted him. The Predacon kicked Starscream back towards the largest of the robots.  
'Aww, don't you want to play anymore?' Darksteel sniggered.  
'ENOUGH!' Starscream roared. 'I am the leader of the Decepticons now, and you shall kneel before me!'  
Darksteel and Skylynx burst into laughter.  
'Silence!' Predaking shouted, and the others stopped laughing immediately. 'You, Starscream, are no leader, nor have you any control over us!'  
He punched the seeker, sending him flying into a nearby pillar. Predaking then shifted into his alternate form: a massive, metal dragon, and roared at Starscream.  
The Decepticon whimpered, and held his hands out in front of him in a pathetic attempt to shield himself. The gargantuan machine arched his neck, and a burning red light grew in his chest.  
The light shot up his spiked neck, and he spat a massive fireball at Starscream.

The Air Commander threw himself out of the way of the blazing missile, which destroyed the pillar where he had been mere moments ago. Starscream tried fleeing once more, only to be trapped against the floor by Predaking's clawed foot.  
He scraped his talons along Starscream' chest, sending sparks shooting away, while the Decepticon squealed in pain.  
'Please, stop!' He whimpered, trying to push the claw off him. 'We'll pretend we never met!' Starscream laughed feebly, but the two other Predacons sniggered again.  
'Ha! That's unlikely,' Skylynx grinned, clearly enjoying the show.  
Predaking snarled at Starscream, and created another fireball in his chest. Aiming straight for the seeker, the Predacon opened his maw to finish the cowardly Decepticon, once and for all.  
Out of desperation, Starscream pointed his arm at the beast, and fired one of his missiles directly into its mouth. Predaking fell backwards, howling in pain, and reverted into his robotic form. Skylynx and Darksteel roared at him, and changed into their reptilian forms, spitting fire at Starscream.  
Running for his life, Starscream dived off the edge of the throne room, falling through the hole left by the Autobots from their earlier encounter with Unicron, just as a torrent of inferno blazed past him.

Starscream ran through the deserted corridors of the Decepticon military base, desperately trying to evade his pursuers. Hiding in a small alcove outside one of the multiple chambers in the complex, the Air Commander took a moment to assess his injuries.  
'Scrap,' he gasped, clutching at his damaged chest. Energon leaked through his wounds, so he leant against the wall in support.  
'Wretched beasts,' he swore. 'I am the true heir to the Decepticon throne, now Megatron has ended his conquest: how dare they attack me!'

Predaking climbed to his feet, and glared at his fellow Predacons.  
'Where is he?' the robot shouted.  
'He escaped into the other levels of Darkmount, master,' Darksteel explained nervously.  
Predaking snarled at them.  
'WHAT? FIND HIM!' He roared.  
The Predacons nodded quickly, and they ran to the edge, leaping down into the corridors in pursuit of their quarry.

Starscream heard their heavy footsteps ring through the corridors. Whimpering again, he jumped to his feet, and looked each way down the corridor. Unfortunately, the footsteps were so loud that he couldn't tell which way they were coming from.  
'Scrap!' He panicked. 'I've got to get away from these monstrosities!'  
He sprinted down the corridor, and rounded the corner. Having spent numerous cycles during the War in Darkmount, Starscream was fairly familiar with its endless labyrinth of passages, even though they all looked identical to each other. He fled down another corridor; relatively confident it would lead him to his escape, but saw Darksteel searching for him at the end of it.  
He froze, although the Predacon was facing away from him, and hadn't seen him yet. Silently, he turned round, but his spark sunk when he saw Skylynx at the opposite end of the corridor.

'Keep your optics sharp, Skylynx,' Darksteel called down the corridor, unaware that he was walking away from his quarry. 'That scaredy-con could be hiding anywhere.'  
Starscream saw a doorway near to him, and began tip-toeing towards it.  
'Why're you telling me, Darksteel?' Skylynx retorted, also ignorant to Starscream behind him. 'You couldn't spot a Junkion in a scrapheap!'  
Darksteel growled. 'Oh yeah?' He asked, turning around.  
'Yeah!' Skylynx shouted, also looking back.  
They both glared at each other, until they noticed Starscream, who at this point was nearly at the doorway.  
'Don't mind me!' Starscream called in a cheery voice. 'Please, carry on!'  
The Predacons snarled.  
'GET HIM!' Skylynx shouted.  
Starscream cried out, and ran towards the door, hitting the switch, as the Predacons sprinted towards him.  
The door slid open, and he ran through it, closing the door behind him. Starscream sighed in relief.  
'Phew,' he breathed. 'That was close.'  
He turned round to survey his current whereabouts.  
'Oh scrap,' Starscream groaned.

He was stood on the platform above the smelting pit. Below him laid a massive pool of molten ore, bubbling and smoking.  
'How is it,' Starscream grumbled, 'that after eons of abandonment, the smelting pit is still active?'  
'An excellent question, Starscream: one you should ask the Maker!'  
Predaking soared down onto the platform opposite Starscream, and shifted into robotic mode. Starscream yelped, and turned around, only to see the two other Predacons tear their way through the door he had came through: he was trapped.  
'Playtime's over, Screamy,' Darksteel cackled.  
'No, please!' Starscream begged, kneeling before them and holding his hands together pleadingly. 'Darksteel, Skylynx! I helped create you: please, have mercy!'  
'Shockwave created us: and we are in his debt no more,' Skylynx replied. 'Nor do we owe you anything, 'Commander'.'  
The Air Commander whimpered. Predaking charged forward, and grabbed Starscream with a single fist. He held the squirming seeker in his hand, and lifted him close to his face. Terrified, Starscream stared into the yellow eyes.  
'You shall humiliate the Predacons no further, Starscream,' Predaking spat. 'Prepare to meet your Maker!'  
He lifted the seeker off the edge of the platform, and raised his arm. Starscream desperately tried to prise his fingers apart, but to no avail. With a fierce cry, Predaking flung Starscream down towards the smelting pit, who screamed in terror.

At the last moment, Starscream managed to transform, his jet engines kicking in just before he splashed into the boiling ore below. He pulled up, and fired his remaining missile at the platform. The Predacons wobbled as the ground shook, and began to crumble away beneath them as the missile struck the walkway. As it collapsed and fell into the pit, the Predacons transformed, flapping their enormous wings to steady themselves.  
Starscream shot away in his jet form, and laughed.  
'Pathetic! You thought you could defeat the mighty Starscream?'  
The three Predacons screamed at him, and shot streams of fire at him. He screamed as the inferno engulfed him, damaging his wings and engines. Smoke poured out of his fuselage as he shot away from safety, Energon leaking out of his numerous wounds.

He soared out towards the horizon, in search of shelter to repair himself.  
'Curse you to the Pit, Predaking!' He spat. 'You shall pay for this, I swear!'


	4. Merely Cosmetic

'So, what will we be having today, my lord?'  
Megatron frowned at Knock Out.  
'Knock Out, please. I am not your 'lord' now, or ever again.'  
The doctor looked at the ground in embarrassment.  
'Forgive me, Megatron. After all these cycles being a Decepticon, I am still finding it a tad difficult to adapt to these changes.'  
'That is understandable,' Megatron agreed.

The two robots were in Knock Out's new laboratory. Situated in the Iacon Archives, the facility was a temporary setup until Cybertron's reconstruction was complete.  
'Anyway, going back to my original question, what is it you want done, my liege- I mean, ahem, my friend?'  
Megatron glanced at him when he used his old title, but made no comment. He sat down on the operating table, and laid back.  
'First and foremost,' he began, 'I wish for you to remove Unicron's, shall we say, _modifications_, to me.'  
Knock Out nodded. 'Anything else?'  
The silver robot paused. 'Yes, actually. I was curious as to whether the fragments of Dark Energon could be removed from my chest: I do not want it corrupting my Spark any further.'  
The red doctor pondered for a moment, scratching his chin in thought.  
'Perhaps,' he thought aloud. 'If I could obtain a dose of the Cybermatter used to reactivate Cybertron's core, it may have the same effect as it did on Bumblebee, in restoring your systems to their original settings... but it will involve me putting you into stasis.'  
'That will be fine, Knock Out.'  
He paused a little. 'However, Megatron, as the dark matter in your Spark chamber is the only substance keeping you alive, when I remove the shards, you will go offline for a few moments until I can apply the Cybermatter into your systems...'  
Megatron looked over to Knock Out. 'I trust in your abilities, good doctor. I know I am in good hands.'  
Knock Out nodded at the compliment. 'Why, thank you, Megatron! I shall just go and obtain a small quantity for the operation: I shall be with you shortly.'  
He nodded, sitting on the table patiently.  
As Knock Out left the room, he muttered to himself. 'Megatron? Compliment me? Could this cycle get any weirder?'

The doctor strolled into the main chamber of the Archives. Walking past Wheeljack and Bulkhead, who were talking by a console, he approached Ultra Magnus, who was in conversation with Arcee.  
'Forgive me for interrupting, commander,' Knock Out interjected, 'but do we, perchance, have any of the Cybermatter available to us? I require a dose to administer to Megatron for his operation.'  
Ultra Magnus faced him. 'At this point of time, doctor, we do not.'  
'But, if we could access Shockwave's logs...' Arcee said, walking over to a nearby console, 'we could see the other half that Ratchet never obtained.'  
She opened a file, and typed in an access code. A screen appeared, and Cybertronian text ran across the display.  
'Scrap,' she muttered, as a Decepticon symbol flashed up. Typing furiously, she tried bypassing the security.  
'Uh, careful,' Knock Out said uncertainly. 'Try not to break the console!'  
Arcee glared at him, until a series of logs appeared on the screen, each coded with formulae and notes.  
'Good work, Arcee,' Magnus commented.  
'Thank you, Sir.' She replied, smirking at Knock Out, who held his hands up in apology.  
Browsing through the files, she opened up one.  
'Here we are: Cyber-Nucleic Acid.'  
'That's the stuff,' the doctor confirmed.  
Arcee groaned as she read the file. 'It's gonna take a while to synthesize, at least a few microcycles.'  
'Firstly, you'll have to combine the Synth-En and the CNA together to form the Cybermatter,' Knock Out interjected. 'My time to shine!'  
He stepped up to the console and entered a series of commands. The two molecules combined in a simulation, and with a bleep and flash of light, a virtual model of the Cybermatter popped up.

'Huh. Nice work, Knock Out,' Arcee said.  
The doctor tried not to be smug, and failed spectacularly.  
'Why, thank you!' He grinned, dusting his hands off. 'I pride myself on only a few things, 2-wheeler: my _sublime_ scientific abilities, my _brilliant _sense of humour, and not to mention my _lustrous_ finish.'  
'And, don't forget your _massive _fear of scratches, Knock Out,' Bumblebee called as he walked past, grinning.  
Arcee snickered, and Knock Out glared at black-and-yellow Autobot, who winked at Arcee. Bumblebee walked over and stood next to Smokescreen, who gazed out of a window with his arms crossed, watching as the occasional Spark streaked across the dusk sky.  
The doctor tapped a button on the console, and said, 'there. Now synthesizing. If you need me, I shall be in the lab.'  
He strolled out of the room.

Wheeljack followed Knock Out with his optics, still chatting with Bulkhead.  
'... so I told the workers to hurry up, right? And guess what they said to me? 'Yes Sir'! I'm telling you Jackie, it's gonna be a while till I get used to not scrapping Vehicons every time I see one.'  
He shook himself out of his reverie, and chuckled. 'Me too, Bulk. Me too.'  
'Anyway, Jackie, I better get on with this reconstruction work.'  
Wheeljack nodded. 'Sure thing. See you around.'  
He patted his green friend on the shoulder, who walked away towards the door.  
The white Wrecker narrowed his eyes in the direction that Knock Out had gone in. Glancing around the room, Wheeljack followed the red robot.

'Seriously?'  
Bumblebee asked Smokescreen, overlooking Iacon through the window.  
'Seriously.'  
'I can't believe Optimus nearly made you a Prime!'  
The blue-and-yellow Autobot looked across and raised an eyebrow.  
'Why do you say that?'  
'Not like _that_,' Bumblebee said quickly. 'I just meant that I couldn't believe that he knew who would be next.'  
'Me too,' he agreed. 'I never thought that he believed I could be next in line for the Matrix. You know, seeing as he had only just met me, to be honest. Also, I hadn't been the wisest out of Team Prime: my ego was too big.'  
'So, why did you turn it down?'  
Smokescreen paused for a moment and thought. 'I think it was because I knew I wasn't ready. Going from security detail for Alpha Trion to the front line of the War is a step big enough, but becoming a Prime as well? That was too much for me to handle.' He looked around the room.  
'Besides, can you _really_ imagine me, leader? I can't see myself ordering Ultra Magnus around, or telling everyone to 'transform, and roll out!''  
Bumblebee laughed. 'That's fair enough. What about now, though? With Optimus now one with Primus, this is your moment to step up!'  
He shook his head. 'Nah, you heard what he said. No more Primes, not without the Matrix.' Looking across at the other robot, he continued. 'Anyway, since you got your voice back, you've been like a Prime: taking control of the situation when the commander was out of action; you really proved your mettle when Unicron was walking and talking.'  
Bumblebee shrugged. 'I can't see myself as a Prime, either. You remember back on Earth, right? You asked me if I wanted to be a Prime then: and we both wanted to be warriors. We should let the High Council choose our leader, once they return.'  
'Hey! I've just thought: Beta Prime!' Smokescreen shouted.  
He looked at him in question.  
'Get it? Your Prime name. Beta Prime! Bee-ta Prime? Get it?'  
'Oh! Very funny, Smokescreen. But what would you be? Smokey Prime?'  
They laughed, as an orange Spark flitted across the horizon.

'So, while the Cybermatter is produced, I thought I'd start with these pieces of armour, Megatron.'  
Knock Out stood by the operating table, where Megatron sat patiently.  
'Very well, Knock Out-'  
He stopped as the door slid open, and Wheeljack walked in.  
'Just thought I'd stop by,' the Wrecker explained. 'See that the operation goes... alright.'  
Knock Out shrugged. 'Fine.'  
Megatron lifted an eyebrow, but made no comment. He understood that given Wheeljack's personality, it would be a while until he could be fully trusted by him, and the other Autobots, for that matter.

'As we were saying,' the doctor continued, 'until the Cybermatter can be fully produced, I shall remove Unicron's modifications to you, Megatron. Shall I induce stasis?'  
'If you would be so kind.'  
Knock Out nodded, and hit a switch on a nearby panel. Megatron's optics slowly faded as he succumbed to sleep.  
Wheeljack leant against the wall and watched.  
'Let's get started, shall we?' Knock Out asked himself, turning around and picking up a surgical saw.  
He started carefully with the corroded metal on his forearms, cutting thin slices in the armour, before using his pointed fingers to lever the plating off.  
Knock Out then proceeded to his legs, shoulder and chest, where he encountered a problem.  
'It would appear that the armour on Megatron's chest is fused by Dark Energon: this will be tricky...' he voiced aloud.  
'What's the problem, doc?' Wheeljack said, talking for the first time since the operation began.  
'Huh?' Knock Out had forgotten the Wrecker was still in the room. 'Nothing, really. Just need a _little _more power...'  
He shifted his arm into his saw. Wheeljack tensed, balling his fists.  
'Calm down, Wheeljack.' Knock Out sighed. 'I just need to apply more pressure to break the dark matter.'  
He nodded tersely, and relaxed a little.

Sparks flew as the doctor cut into the armour, a high-pitched screeching creating agony for the two robots' audio receptors. Knock Out winced as the noise persisted, and even Wheeljack had to voice his complaints.  
'Do you have to make that noise?'  
'Almost... there...' Knock Out growled through gritted teeth. His saw pushed through the last of the armour, and the noise ceased.  
The doctor massaged his head in his hands, and groaned. 'Ouch, that hurt.'  
He picked up the bulky chest plate, and threw it into the pile of other discarded armour pieces.  
'Now, just his helm...' he murmured, picking up the smaller saw. He carefully amputated the horns on his helmet and the spikes at the back of his head.  
He stepped back to admire his handiwork, and Wheeljack walked forward to see.

Megatron now resembled his former self once more: admittedly there were a few scratches and dents from the surgery, but a successful process nonetheless.  
'Not my best work, but nothing a bit of polish and a rotary buffer can't fix,' Knock Out commented.  
A beep went off on one of the consoles.  
'Ah! The Cybermatter is completed: Wheeljack, would you go and get that for me?'  
He nodded, and left the room, heading for the other laboratory.  
Knock Out chuckled. 'Who's errand boy now, Shockwave?'  
The Wrecker returned, carrying a small canister of blue liquid: the Cybermatter. He passed the container to the doctor, who placed it carefully on a nearby table.  
'Now comes the tricky part...' Knock Out sighed, picking up a plasma cutter. 'I will have to open Megatron's chest to access the fragments of Dark Energon in his Spark chamber,' he explained to Wheeljack.  
'Once I have removed the shards, Megatron will go offline: and I will have to administer the Cybermatter to counteract that.'  
Wheeljack raised an eyebrow. 'That sounds difficult, doc.'  
'You don't even know the half of it.'

Knock Out ignited the cutter, and slid its tip along the centre of Megatron's chest. The panels slid open, revealing his Spark.  
The fragments of Dark Energon were embedded in the pulsing device, the crystals a vivid purple, with a slight aura surrounding them.  
A display in the background showed Megatron's life signal, pulsing steadily in his slumber. Knock Out replaced the cutter with a pair of pliers, and carefully took hold of one of the shards. He eased it out of Megatron's chest, and dropped the dark substance in a nearby container.  
'Swab,' Knock Out chuckled nervously as he reached into the Spark chamber again.  
'How you holding up?' Wheeljack asked.  
'Like a Minicon under an Autobot Guardian,' he replied.  
Wheeljack laughed.  
Knock Out pulled out another piece of shrapnel, and put it with the other. He glanced at Megatron's life signal. His pulse had dropped a little.  
He continued to remove pieces of Dark Energon, but each time a piece was removed, the pulse dropped more and more.

'How many pieces left?' Wheeljack asked.  
'Just the one, I think,' Knock Out responded. His hand shook slightly as he reached into Megatron's chest again. As he grabbed the last shard, Megatron's pulse went into freefall. He pulled it out quickly and threw it into the container, while sirens went off and lights flashed.  
'What the scrap is happening?' the Wrecker shouted.  
'He's flat lining! He's flat lining!' He shouted back, panicking.  
Wheeljack ran forward and grabbed the Cybermatter canister and an injector, while Knock Out ran around clutching his head in a frenzy.  
Slotting the container into the device, Wheeljack plunged the nozzle into Megatron's Spark, and triggered the injector.

The Cybermatter squeezed out, but then nothing.  
The sirens continued to wail, the lights continued to flash.  
Wheeljack glared at the lifeless body of the former tyrant.  
'Come on, buckethead,' he snarled.  
Suddenly, a pale blue light began to glow from his Spark, and the sirens ended. Knock Out stopped running around, and looked at the silver robot, his fingers digging into his face.  
The display began to beep as Megatron's life signal restarted, rhythmically pulsing. The light in his chest grew, becoming brighter and brighter, to the extent that the two other robots had to look away. With a flash, the whole laboratory was lit with blinding white light.

The light faded, and the two robots looked at each other in question.  
'Ever considered being a doctor, Wheeljack?'  
'Nah, technology over biology for me, doc,' he replied, smiling slightly at the red robot.

Megatron opened his eyes slowly, and sat up.  
Rubbing his head drowsily, he looked at the others, who looked surprised.  
'Well?' He asked.  
Megatron was totally different. His optics was now a blue colour; and his eyebrows were now rounded, as a pose to sharp and angular. His claw-like fingers were now square-like, similar to how Optimus' had been; his shark-like teeth were square; and the scars on his face were gone.  
The plates on his body that were once purple were now red; and where his Decepticon insignias had been found were now an empty space.  
His voice was gentle, but carried a hint of wisdom behind it: he could've been mistaken for Optimus' brother.  
'Well?' He repeated.  
Knock Out had regained his composure. 'You look, er, different, Megatron.'  
Wheeljack said nothing. He was shocked by how different his former enemy looked to the extent he was speechless. This was a rare event for a Wrecker.

Megatron got to his feet, but stumbled slightly.  
'Steady there, buckethead,' Wheeljack told him with a smirk.  
'Thanks,' Megatron replied with a smile.

The three of them left the laboratory, and headed back towards the main chamber.  
Knock Out opened the door, and cleared his throat loudly.  
Arcee, Ultra Magnus, Bumblebee, Smokescreen and Bulkhead looked around.  
'Presenting, lady and gentlemechs, the new Megatron!'  
He stepped to the side, revealing the reformatted robot.  
Megatron stood in the doorway, his hands behind his back, looking intently at them with his blue optics.  
They walked towards him in curiosity, looking at him with surprised expressions.  
'Ok, I'm freaking out here!' Smokescreen said.  
Arcee put her hand on her hips. 'This is weird. Like seeing Ratchet with a smile-'

Suddenly, a display panel lit up, and sirens lit up. Bulkhead ran over and looked at the screen.  
'Guys? We've got bogeys inbound. A lot of them.'  
They rushed to the window and looked up into the sky.  
Hundreds of ships were descending from space.

'Autobots!' Ultra Magnus shouted. 'Mobilise! We may have a fight on our hands!'  
They nodded, and headed towards the door.  
'Ultra Magnus, Sir.'  
Megatron stood by the window, still.  
'What is it?'  
'Reporting for duty,' he said, raising his arm in a salute.  
Ultra Magnus smiled slightly. 'Your assistance is welcome, _soldier_.'  
He smiled as well, and followed his new ally.  
The Autobots gathered outside the Archives, and saw the first of the ships disappear behind some of the buildings.  
'They're landing in the Iacon Spaceport,' Bumblebee called, pointing towards the ships.  
'Autobots, roll out!' Ultra Magnus shouted.  
They all shifted into their alternate forms, and raced towards the landing spacecraft.


End file.
